


A Slight Change in Circumstances

by HPendle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A prize in every box - err chapter, All you need to know is that relationships are complicated, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Healer Draco Malfoy, Healer Severus Snape, Homage to telenovelas, Love Triangles, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, No Weasley bashing surprisingly, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Severus Snape Lives, Slow Build, Slow Burn, We're avoiding spoilers for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26385529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPendle/pseuds/HPendle
Summary: A holiday turned Hermione and her mother Beth into telenovela fans. They just never thought they would ever live one.[AU/Canon divergence]
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 14
Kudos: 17





	1. A Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, reader! I'm so happy and grateful that you are here.
> 
> While I might have taken some liberties with the Universe and their characters, they are not my creation nor are they owned by me. Original characters inspired by the Potterverse are mine, unless otherwise stated.
> 
> Biological sex is not binary and gender is a social construct that needs to be detached from sex. Wearing a face mask when possible is showing others you care for their wellbeing, and it saves you from having to smile at everyone you encounter Outside.
> 
> If reading this makes you feel something, positive and/or negative, do let me know!

When Hermione Jean Granger was twelve weeks and two days away from her twenty second birthday, she found love. It was a love that she never expected, and that came from the most unlikely of places. This is the story of Hermione's greatest love, and it begins in an office in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where our heroine and her mother, Elizabeth Jean Granger, nervously awaited -

Hold on, that isn't right. Let me go check my notes.

Excellent - now, let us go back to where our story truly begins, two years earlier: a dark and stormy night, in a hotel room in Cancún - I'm sorry, dear reader. That isn't where the story really begins, either.

… What am I doing here? I mean, I can't just place you in the middle of a scene and expect you to just know how our heroine got there without any context or backstory, right? That would be terrible storytelling.

So to understand this story, we need to go further back, to Great Britain during the Second Wizarding War ...

There we go. Much better!

Now, you may recall that Hermione's hardest task took place during the darkest year of the war: in order to keep her mother safe from Death Eaters, she had to erase her memories and supplant them with false ones under a false identity and send her away to Australia. When the war ended, our heroine's first priority was to be reunited with her mother. How she would do this, with Beth masquerading as one Monica Wilkins somewhere in Canberra, she didn't know.

But after all, our heroine was one of the cleverest and most determined witches of her generation. Where she could not find a way, she made one; and thus, she rallied the resources to restore Beth's memory. On the day that the final charm was cast to reverse the Forgetfulness Charm, Elizabeth's face lit up when she recognised her daughter. It was a reunion full of tears and joy and oh, I'm starting to get all choked up just thinking about it!

I need a moment …

Where were we? Right! The happiest of mother-daughter reunions, which culminated in something our heroine was sorely in need of: a holiday! But before I tell you about Hermione and Beth's holiday, let me tell you about the butterfly effect.

The butterfly effect is an idea that posits that a slight change in circumstances can ripple throughout and cause an event or situation to change – sometimes even completely different outcomes. The best way to understand it is through the example of a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world which will create a tornado, weeks later, in a different part of the world. In the case of Hermione and Beth's holiday, the proverbial flap of a butterfly's wings was their travel agent. Had he not been in a hurry to secure his commission, he would have taken enough time to check and realise that there were several weather warnings for the region during those dates – flap. Then, he would have suggested different dates for their holiday – flap – or a different destination – flap, flap.

Any one of those flaps, dear reader, could have changed everything for our heroine. Had any of those circumstances been different for her, I probably would not have a story to tell you. This brings us to that dark and stormy night in a hotel room in Cancún ...

Hermione and Beth had chosen this destination for its delicious weather, endless turquoise sea, and unbeatably low prices. But within the first hour of their pool lounging, the skies darkened and they were ushered back inside the hotel. Their night was spent channel-surfing and nibbling on the poolside sandwiches they had managed to sneak back into their room. Between the weather channel and what seemed to be a show about astrology led by a lavishly dressed man, Beth bolted upright on her bed.

"No, go back one channel!"

A beautiful woman with striking green eyes, dressed in flowing green clothes, was smelling yellow wildflowers in a lush meadow. The scene cut to a handsome, muscular man standing before a horse. He gently stroked the woman's cheek - but, on the next scene, was seen walking with an arm around a woman with long and flowing jet-black hair.

" … You want to watch this?"

"Shhh!"

Beth, fluent in Spanish from her time doing postgraduate studies in Spain, would translate the going ons to Hermione. The woman with green eyes was born blind and in poverty, but was pure of heart and with a heart full of love. The love she felt was for the handsome country doctor raised in a wealthy family, who he loved her back but was promised to another.

When the episode was over and they dared change the channel again, they stumbled into a different but not less griping story. The beautiful daughter of a politician, badly wounded by the hitmen who killed her father, was the love interest of two brothers: the journalist who saved her life, and the detective tasked to investigate her family for supposed ties to organised crime.

It was all they could talk about the following morning over breakfast. Beth would find out through chats with another guest - an American witch, small and curvy and gorgeously tanned - that they had been watching telenovelas: soap operas that were so brief, every episode needed to be filled with more dramatic twists and turns than a serial would usually fit. They almost didn't mind that their time under the Sun was limited to the last two days of their trip - they would still hurry back to their room with poolside sandwiches and drinks when the clock struck 7:00 PM.

On the day of their departure, Hermione and Beth would have been more wistful about not finding out who would win the love of the beautiful orphan, or if the green-eyed woman would be able to gain sight and the doctor's love, had it not been for the fellow vacationing witch. She handed them a piece of paper with her address, and sealed her promise of sending them taped recordings of these stories with a wink.

As soon as she was done with her belated seventh year at Hogwarts, Hermione went back to living with Beth. Not long after, she enrolled in a double BA - Politics and Law, in a Muggle university - that allowed her to continue living at home. Her mornings were spent in class, poring over textbooks and taking notes. In the evenings she would curl up with Beth on their sofa. For an hour (or two, if it was a weekend), mother and daughter would be engrossed watching these stories, where love would triumph over every trial.

This was, for the most part, their routine for the next three years.

Now, dear reader, here is where the story of Hermione Jean Granger's greatest love _really_ begins ...


	2. Chapter One

"What - _mum_! Give it back!"

Our story begins when our heroine, Hermione Jean Granger, was twelve weeks and two days away from her twenty-second birthday. At twenty-one years old the things she loves the most include, in no particular order: her mother, her friends, and her double degree.

"That is _it_ , Hermione, we are going to be late for your appointment."

By the time she was thirty-four, Elizabeth Jean Granger had three great loves: her husband and their daughter, and her dental practice - in that order. However, one winter night in 1983, a sudden heart attack took one of them away. Not one to sink, Beth resolved to pour all the love she could no longer give her husband into her practice and their daughter. So now, at fifty-two, her dental practice and her daughter were the things she loved the most.

Which is why Beth took away the book her daughter was reading.

"I don't see the point in going," Hermione protested. "Aga said that there are no signs of anything long-term."

" _Healer Minkus_ ' orders, baby girl. Wouldn't cross the woman," Beth planted a kiss on Hermione's temple and headed to the wardrobe.

"The engagement is off, anyway. It's not like I need to sort this out _now_. Or ever."

Beth looked at Hermione with worry. You see, dear reader, Hermione had been engaged to Ron Weasley, her Hogwarts sweetheart. It had ended recently and very badly, so very badly. But more on that later.

"I'll cut you a deal. We go to your appointment, get some takeaway on the way back, and come back to catch up on _La Usurpadora_." Beth picked two items from the wardrobe and showed them to Hermione. "Let's choose something nice to go with this sunny weather, yeah? Now, I _know_ you'd rather go for the blue dress, but I really think you should give the new yellow one a chance … "

With a groan, our heroine lied back in her bed, trying not to think that if she hadn't ended her engagement and caved in to Ronald's requests, she could have been out of her childhood home - and away from an overbearing mother - in a year's time.

* * *

Hermione had settled for the buttery yellow sundress and a white cardigan. It made the bronze glow of her skin all the more radiant, and she felt confident in a way she had not felt since _the incident_ as she walked down Diagon Alley with her mother. They decided to get iced coffee from Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour before heading to the appointment. Mother and daughter were so engrossed in conversation, Hermione didn't notice the men coming in and collided with them, turning her cardigan into a murky beige with her order.

"I am so sorry, miss, please let me - " it was a deep and familiar voice. But this was a voice she had never expected - or wanted - to hear ever again. Severus Snape was standing in front of her, casting a Siphoning Charm to clean their clothes. Next to him was Draco Malfoy, wearing a tan coat over the navy blue scrubs of first year Healers and his usual sneer.

"Leave _that_ , Severus, we are going to be late."

Hermione felt the heat rise in her face as they locked eyes and recognition dawned on him. Hurriedly, she muttered an apology and hurried out with the remains of her beverage. Beth quickly caught up with her.

"Baby, is everything okay?"

Hermione nodded. "It's just - that was Professor - er, Severus Snape. The last time I saw him was during the last battle. He'd been … hurt," she chose her adjective carefully, "it was a bit of a surprise is all."

Beth's eyes widened. "That was _the_ Snape? The teacher who tormented you about your teeth?"

* * *

"No, it's _Sweetleaf_ ," a young woman in the light blue of Healers-in-training gently corrected Healer Malfoy on her last name. Jane Sweetleaf was a girl with thick chocolate tresses pulled in a half-ponytail, rosy cheeks on fair skin, and a slightly squeaky voice.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Draco furrowed his brow. His attention was on his patients' charts.

"Well .. no. You said Sweeney." Her voice was perky but her hands were fumbling. He nodded absentmindedly and quickly eyed the Trainee rota on the wall.

"Indeed. You're on cauldron duties this week, it seems. Go see Healer Snape in Lab C, Sweeney." Draco was too busy with the Greengrass chart - a favourite of his - to notice the crestfallen look on Trainee Jane's face. She emerged from the dungeons not much later, carrying a carefully charmed box full of phials towards the fourth floor. It was Jane's third month doing rotations and, so far, Healer Agnieszka Minkus was her favourite: she would always greet Jane with a wide smile and coffee, it was a quiet and orderly floor, and she never got Jane's name wrong.

As if on cue, Healer Minkus grabbed the box from Jane and set a large plastic cup of Fabiana Fortescue's special iced coffee in front of the trainee. A Polish former matron who specialised in reversal of Dark spell work, she had been quickly assigned as the Head of the Spell Damage Department upon the end of the Second War and her residency at St. Mungo's.

"Good morning, I hope you're prepared for a very exciting day. We are seeing one of the Golden Trio _and_ doing a super special, top-secret procedure today, so I need you on top form."

"Actually, Healer Minkus - "

"I keep telling you, call me Aga," Healer Minkus waved dismissively while she pored through the box's contents, lifting each stickered phial against the light and squinting at its labels.

"Aga, Healer Malfoy said I'm assigned to Healer Snape's service today, so I'd better … " Jane pointed her thumb awkwardly to the ward's exit with a sad smile. Aga looked at her and chuckled.

"Oh, come off it. We both know you're not going to get any practical learning done carrying draughts up and down St. Mungo's. You stay here studying these two charts and I will go sort this with Severus. Do we have a deal?"

* * *

"No, mum, we already had a deal: appointment, take away, get home, _Usurpadora_. We never agreed to visitors. This is cheating!"

"It's just Ginny coming over for a cuppa. Come on, you've not seen her or anyone else in ages."

"I haven't seen her because I don't fancy talking with my ex-fiancé's sister about how I broke things off with her brother!"

They were still arguing when Healer Minkus came in the examination room with Jane.

"Good morning, Grangers! Hermione, this is Healer-in-Training Jane Sweetleaf, she will be assisting today." Jane gave a tiny, excited wave and fumbled with Hermione's chart. "Jane, introduce our patient, please."

"Hermione Jean Granger, twenty one years old. Veteran of the Second Wizarding War," no one in the room missed the slight tremble of excitement in Jane's voice, "no underlying health conditions, magical or non-magical. In for outpatient treatment of … scarred … vaginal, cervical, and uterine tissues caused by unknown Dark Arts spells."

"It was all part of the torture. Bellatrix Lestrange said she would make sure I wouldn't 'sully the Wizarding World by breeding'," Hermione explained with a tiny shrug to a visibly horrified Jane.

"Well, we're not going to give a dead Death Eater that satisfaction, are we?" Healer Minkus clasped her hands and smiled widely. "Jane, please prepare the Dilating potion. A little further down, please, Hermione - "

You would think wizards would have come up with better alternatives for gynaecological procedures by then. But honestly, it's not that surprising that they hadn't. I mean, the men running Wizarding society are just as sexist as Muggle men. Of course they're not interested in making things more comfortable for women - the only difference is that their lot has magic, like _that_ makes them any better.

… What? _Someone_ had to say it. But anyway, back to our story.

Hermione scooted down and shivered when she felt the cold stirrups against her feet. "That's excellent. Have you seen any changes in your cycle since your last visit in January?"

"They're definitely shorter now. We're down to forty, forty-five days tops."

"Intensity? Abundance?"

"Not as bad. I was even able to go for my morning run and all."

"It sounds like we are definitely improving. _Lumos._ Jane, the Dilating potion, please. Now, I know you hate this part, so I need you to take a deep breath … "

* * *

"Here you go, lovey." Hermione smiled at her mum and whispered a _ta_ as she took the cup from her hands. "And one for you, Gin. I'll leave you girls to it."

Ginny sat across from the sofa where Hermione was resting. She had a matching cup in front of her and looked slightly uncomfortable.

"So," the redhead thought the awkwardness in the room would go away if she began talking. "How did today go?"

"Healer Min - _Aga_ says it all looks great," they shared a look and started giggling. Ginny's plan worked.

"So she still does that?" Hermione nodded. "Merlin, that's so odd! To be on a first name basis with a Healer while she's … down there, tinkering … her wand all up in there …"

Hermione had been mid-sip at that remark and she couldn't help snorting into her cup. They burst out laughing. The tension between them dissolved over chattering about Healer Minkus' too-chummy bedside manner, and how Trainee Sweetleaf had asked if she could have Hermione's autograph on the back of a spare form.

There was a brief silence again, where they busied themselves by sipping their tea and thinking about what to say next.

"You didn't have to break things off with _me_ too, you know," Ginny blurted out suddenly. Hermione's own eyes welled up when she realised Ginny was wiping tears from her eyes.

"I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me after what I dumped your brother, Ginny."

"Who cares about that? I just want my sister back. This is all so stupid," Ginny sniffled and hurried to sit down next to Hermione, "he might be my brother, but he's such a stupid man. Have we really not been talking over something stupid a stupid boy's done?"

Hermione laughed through her tears and the friends hugged tightly. "I was so afraid you would hate me over this. But I've missed you so much. Shit, it's been so lonely, Gin. I had just my mum to talk to, and you know she _adores_ Ron," she curled up in her friend's arms. "How are Molly and Arthur?"

"They miss you. I think mum agrees with me that you were too good for Ron, though. What happened?"

Hermione smiled sadly and shook her head in response.

"I'll tell you all about it later, when I feel better, yeah? Hey, mum and I were planning on ordering some takeaway and watching one of our shows. You could stay if you want."

That night and almost every night for the next three weeks, Ginny would head to the Grangers' after her training sessions to watch _La Usurpadora_ with Hermione over cups of tea. With the help of a very crafty thing Muggle televisions did called "subtitles", Ginny was able to understand Paulina Bracho's despair at having to go along with Paola's plans.

But more importantly, dear reader, the friends were able to begin mending their relationship.

* * *

Hermione was in a bad mood the morning of her last appointment with Minister Shacklebolt. The morning before, she had received an owl from Lavender Brown asking if they could meet for coffee during their lunch break. After apologies for having forgotten about her last three birthdays, Lavender bit her lip and began shredding her napkin.

"You know I've always had a soft spot for him, but this time it was all him. And I never once talked to him like _that_ while you two were together. Nothing has happened between us. Honest. I didn't want to tell you then because it was just old mates having lunch - or so I thought - and then it sort of became a habit. But last night he asked me if I'd go out to dinner, proper stepping out, and I didn't want to say yes before I knew you would be okay with it. I mean, it _is_ over between you and Ron, isn't it? And you wouldn't mind if he and I …?"

Twelve weeks and four days ago, our heroine had ended her engagement and relationship with Ronald Weasley, her boyfriend of nearly three years. Six days after this event, he was already asking someone else out to lunch with him.

Hermione had smiled brightly and reassured Lavender that yes, it was definitely over; and yes, she was completely okay with it. Lavender had hugged her tightly and made many promises - that they both knew she wouldn't keep - of making time during the week for a proper catch-up.

Before Hermione left Fortescue's, she asked for extra chocolate sauce over the remaining puddle of her coffee ice cream.

Hermione felt bile and anger rising in her throat as she replayed the previous day in her mind. That was why she chose to wear her smart off-white blouse with the pearl buttons and black slacks: to reassure Lavender and Ron, should she run into them in the Ministry, that they were _not_ on her mind. For extra measure, she also grabbed her black pumps, a red lipstick, and her mother's pearls.

Ron and Lavender were _not_ on her mind as Kingsley talked about the modernisation of Wizarding Britain. They were _not_ on her mind as they discussed the benefits of a unicameral legislature. They were definitely _not_ on her mind as he leaned back on his chair, smiling widely, and asked, "how soon can you start?"

"Right now!" They both laughed over how Hermione couldn't contain her excitement. "I mean, if what you need is someone full-time, I can definitely begin today, but the next term of my course begins in late September. I would have to be working part-time from then, if you're alright with that."

"Whoah, Hermione, stop! Let's take it easy, you can start tomorrow as a full-time employee for all of August and September. As for your course … we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Any other conditions, Miss Granger?"

"Actually, just the one - no Time-Turners, please."

Her new job in the Ministry had been enough to put Ron and Lavender out of her mind. She texted her mother with the good news as soon as she walked out of Kingsley's office and headed to the atrium, where Ginny and Harry waited for her.

"Are we buying the new Minister of Magic lunch today, then?" Harry joked. "Go on and tell us, how did it go with Kingsley?"

"He didn't offer me _his_ job, but it went great. It looks as if I'll be assisting Kingsley with pushing forward this really ambitious project - "

The excitement in Hermione's voice died when she saw them out of the corner of her eye: Ron and Lavender, heading towards the exit, holding hands and talking as if they'd been at it for ages. Ginny also noticed it, but was much less discreet than Hermione.

"I think we can do much better than The Leaky Cauldron," she said loudly, "Kingsley's new right hand woman deserves so much better than mushed peas." The volume of Ginny's voice only lowered after she had made sure Ron and Lavender were well past the golden gates. "I mean that. Let's go have dinner in Muggle London instead - our treat."

With Ginny hooked to her left arm and Harry's arm around her shoulder to her right, they started making their way to the exit.

"Gin, you _are_ aware I'm only the personal assistant to Kingsley's Communications advisor?"

"For now," Harry said with a smile. "Give it some time, you and I will be fighting for the position of Head of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm willing to let you win it if it comes with a raise for me and my own office, though."

Even though she was nodding and smiling as her two friends went on complimenting her, Hermione couldn't stop thinking about Ron and Lavender and their hand holding. She was still able to make conversation about Kingsley's mysterious Communications advisor even as she felt the anger rise up and bubble in her throat again. Everything, from the noises in the Tube to Ginny's resemblance to Ron to Harry's stupid new haircut (who had told that boy he had the head for faded sides, she wanted to know) just made her feel angrier and more confused and like having more of Fortescue's chocolate sauce, no ice cream, just that sauce - Merlin, it was so hot out that day, and why did the smell of coffee made her stomach churn _-_

"Hey, you okay? Do you need to sit down?"

It wasn't until a sudden gust of warm air hit her that she realised that what had been rising in her throat all day had not exactly been anger, not exactly -

"Ah, fuck!"

\- at some point, after what she had thought was anger revealed itself to be her half-digested breakfast over Harry's shoes, the world went upside down. The last thing she thought about before everything went black was Fabiana Fortescue's chocolate sauce.

* * *

Hermione Jean Granger came back to consciousness with a nasty taste in her mouth and a headache. Ginny was standing next to her, the worried look on her face relaxing when she noticed her friend was conscious again.

"Hey," Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand gently before casting _Aguamenti_ into her empty flask. "Harry's outside calling work, just to let them know he'll be in a bit late. How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," Hermione whispered. The water was somewhat welcome - if anything, it helped wash off some of the taste in her mouth. Ginny cast the spell a second time after carefully peeking out the curtain. "Where are we?"

"It's a tiny Muggle hospital. Harry mentioned the name but I forgot. You gave us quite a scare back there."

"I've been feeling a bit funny today, to be honest." Hermione drank the contents of the flask slowly this time. A nurse with a pixie-cut came in, all smiles.

"Oh good, you're up. I just need to ask you a few questions before we let you get on with your day … Miss Granger," the nurse checked the chart quickly. "Now, have you had these symptoms for long, the vomiting and fainting?"

"The vomiting and the fainting have only happened just once. But now that you mention it," Hermione mused, "I've been feeling a bit queasy and tired lately."

"Oh - we usually have tea with her mum, but it's been spotty the past week. Hermione's been tired and she'll fall asleep watching telly. And it's been what, two nights that you skip dinner because you're too queasy?" Ginny quipped.

"Anything else to add, mum?" Hermione sounded testy.

"Alright, nausea and fatigue for a week ... Miss Granger, when was your last period?"

"Two months, probably? I'm not very regular."

"Right. Okay, Miss Granger, you need to take a pregnancy test - " Hermione's laughter interrupted the nurse, and made Ginny raise her eyebrows.

"That won't be necessary. I'm not pregnant."

The nurse gave Hermione a sympathetic look. "I know it's a lot to process, but we need to confirm you're pregnant before we can discuss your options."

"There are no options to discuss. I know I'm not pregnant because I know I _can't_ be pregnant."

"Okay," the nurse's voice was dripping with skepticism, "you won't mind us running a quick test to rule it out?"

"You know what? Fine, test me, I've just had plenty of water anyway," Hermione replied defiantly. The nurse nodded and produced a sealed bag with a plastic cup in it from one of the drawers in the bedside trolley.

It took Hermione five minutes to walk to the toilet and come back with an uncomfortably warm and full cup full of … well, you know. Without any ceremony, the nurse unscrewed the lid and showed Hermione a thin strip of paper with a single pink strip.

"This is a pregnancy test. One line means the test is negative and that means you're not pregnant. Two means it's positive, and that means you _are_ pregnant."

Hermione and Ginny shared an annoyed look at how slowly the nurse spoke, every word dripping in condescension, then dipped the end of the test in … the _contents_ of Hermione's cup.

It took three minutes for the results to show. Hermione's eyes widened in shock at the soggy strip with its mocking pair of hot pink lines.

"Okay, but no - I mean, this can't be - it just _can't_ be happening. I've never had sex before!"

_to be continued . . ._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Well, there were plenty of dishes left over after Christmas 2018 ... the world has changed plenty since we last saw each other, hasn't it?
> 
> I might have written this two glasses of wine in, and published it two beers in. It's strange times, dear reader.
> 
> As stated in the tags, there is a prize in every chapter. Whoever spots the reference, gets a (virtual) prize. Sometimes, being told you're right is the biggest gift of all. And as always, I welcome your comments. Even the less praising ones. They help you develop as a writer, after all.
> 
> Keep safe. Wear a mask if you are able to and need to go Outside.


	3. Chapter Two

Elizabeth Jean Granger had only been to the hospital two times in her life (three, if we're counting her birth). Both times had been life-changing.

In the fifteenth hour of her first hospital visit, a matron placed a newly born Hermione in her arms after gruelling labour. On the second one, with a young Hermione in tow and within ten minutes of their arrival, a doctor placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, a plastic bag with Robert Granger's personal effects in her arms, and told her nothing could have been done for him.

Beth's third time in a hospital (fourth, if we're counting her birth) would also be life-changing.

Her first reaction when she saw Harry standing in the waiting area was to sprint to him and hug him tightly. She was struggling not to relive that second hospital visit as she spoke. "I came as quickly as I could, where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, she's with Ginny in the walk-in section. Hermione was really concerned about a possible detached core, she kept saying that there is no way she can be pregnant, so we came in here instead. Only one person is allowed so Gin went in and I - "

"Slow down," Beth gestured at him to stop. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to steady herself. "What do you mean - pregnancy, detached core? What happened to Hermione?"

"It's what they told us at the minor injury unit - we ended up there because she fainted just outside the station. The nurse there gave her a test and it came positive," said Harry.

"Oh, that's not possible. There has to be a mistake, Hermione _can't_ be pregnant," Beth scoffed.

For a moment, she wondered if her dismissal of the news came from a place of denial. That might have very well been the case, dear reader, but she knew her daughter. More importantly, she knew what her daughter had - and had _not_ \- been through.

Harry couldn't stop his hands from fidgeting with Ginny's now-empty flask as he replied with carefully chosen words. "That's why we brought her here. We thought, well, if there is no way this could be pregnancy, then it could be something magical and more serious. Alright, a detached core is something I saw happen at work once … "

* * *

"Well, this isn't something you see happening every day."

Draco - henceforth known as _Junior Healer Malfoy_ , those last three years of training had not been for nothing, thank you very much - hated being assigned to the walk-in area. If there was something he had grown accustomed to during peacetime, it was … exactly that, peace - something that did not exist in the walk-in area of St. Mungo's.

When he saw that Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley were behind the only closed curtain, it made him hate walk-in duties a little bit more intensely.

"This has **got** to be some sick joke," Hermione groaned.

"We need another Healer ," Ginny said flatly. "We need a Healer, period. Ferrets can't be Healers."

"Har-dee-har. Being a Weasley isn't a treatable condition - "

"I'm the patient, actually," Hermione shot her hand up - almost as if on reflex - and her face felt hot as she awkwardly brought it back down. Junior Healer Malfoy cocked an eyebrow up and looked plenty amused.

"I'm afraid your condition as a swot is terminal, Granger. Now if you'll excuse me - "

"I'm pregnant!" Hermione blurted out. "That's what I was told in a Muggle hospital."

"Well … congratulations, this will surely have the Weasley name finally removed from the list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I'm saying this not because I'm happy for you, but because you've done Wizarding Britain and purebloods a service." He offered a thumbs up and a smile, laden with sarcasm, and started drawing back the curtain to leave.

"But there's no way I can be pregnant! There just isn't, because I've never had sex before!"

"And Harry mentioned it might be a detached core. That is a really dangerous - "

That stopped Junior Healer Malfoy from leaving the cubicle. He huffed and rolled his eyes. "I know what a detached core is and what it does, Weasley. Healers-in-training are drilled abbout the dangers of it during our first year. We saw a case of it that same year and you barely get to see those. Chap didn't make it. That isn't what's going on here. Please, leave and let me get on with my day." His fingers kept tapping the clipboard impatiently.

"I'm not leaving. Not when it could be something that serious," Hermione stared him down. "Call Aga. She's the Healer who's been seeing me since the Battle."

"Unfortunately, _Healer Minkus_ is in a conference through to the end of the week. Which also explains why I have to put up with this bloody circus instead of having my tea break. I was sent lemon cakes. They could be all soggy by now," he muttered to himself.

Junior Healer Malfoy's second attempt to exit the cubicle was interrupted by none other than his patient's visibly angry mother and his visibly angry school nemesis.

"And the cavalry has arrived. Only one visitor per patient allowed, Potter. You and whoever this is will have to go back to the waiting area."

"Patient? You haven't even taken a look at me - _and don't talk to my mum like that_!"

Beth narrowed her eyes at him. "You've been here an _hour_ and no one's seen you? What, isn't this boy meant to be a doctor or something?"

_"Healer_! Junior _Healer_. I was explaining to your daughter, lovely girl that she is," Draco hissed, "that there's nothing wrong with her, other than letting a Weasley get her pregnant - "

"You know what? That's it _-_ "

"Alright, sweetheart, no hexing people in public, your season is about to start." Harry struggled but eventually managed to discreetly keep Ginny - petite, deceptively strong Ginny - from decking _Junior Healer Malfoy_ in front of the matron's station. "Beth, we'll check in tonight, yeah?"

"If this boy ever gets my daughter the help she needs!"

"Which I have said we cannot give her at this very moment. Pye and Minkus are away in a conference, Abasi is on holiday, and Possel and Budge have their hands full in their respective wards. You came in at a busy time for every competent Healer in this place."

"There _has_ to be someone else available, Draco," Hermione sighed in frustration. "Come on. Have a think with that became-a-junior-Healer-somehow brain of yours. You get someone else in here, you get rid of me, you get to go back to your lemon cakes before they get soggy."

She had a good point, Draco decided. The sooner she was in someone else's hands, the sooner he could have his break.

"… Actually, there _is_ a Healer available."

"Great! Who is it?"

* * *

"Healer Snape?"

" _Shhhh_."

Jane stopped in her tracks with one tiny, mousy squeak. The cauldron in front of Healer Snape bubbled violently. He seemed to mind the intrusion more than the potential of third degree burns - after all, this _was_ a Wizarding hospital he was in, and he _was_ the Healer in charge of the hospital's remedies.

After four more clock-wise stirs and a wave of his hand over the Cauldron, he turned around to face her. "Alright, _now_ you may talk." He straightened his back when he faced Jane, with foggy specs and his face and scarred neck red from the cauldron's steam.

Jane straightened her back some and cleared her throat, remembering her parents' advice to be more assertive. "You are needed in the walk-in area, sir."

"Walk-ins are usually minor injuries and accidents. If it's not serious enough to be admitted to a floor, have Healer Malfoy deal with it."

"He specifically asked for you to take the case," Jane raised her voice to keep Severus from turning his back to her - and her voice went back to a squeak when he narrowed his eyes at her - "sir."

"Draco has never asked me to take a patient from the walk-in before. What happened?"

"Well, it's quite the funny story. You see, we have this patient who _seems_ to be pregnant, but she claims she has never - uhm - well." Jane's face took nearly the same shade of the contents in the cauldron.

"She has never … ?" Severus raised his eyebrows. He dropped his hands on his lap when Jane stuttered. "Oh, for crying out loud, girl, just _say - "_

"She claims she's never had sex, sir!"

"… At all?"

"At all."

"Was there a positive test?"

"Well … she won't let him test her, apparently, because she's insisting it might be a detached core, sir, because, well, _she_ is so very insistent that she's never, well …"

If only you could have seen poor Jane's face at that very moment. And his face, too. Pregnancies that pop up out of nowhere are not something you see in the medical field often, Muggle or Wizarding, after all.

"… Huh."

In that moment, Severus thought it might be only a case of a young woman too embarrassed to admit a mistake. Of course, dear reader, you and I know that is **not** the case - but let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Besides, he'll come around, eventually.

After a minute or so, he stood up and walked over to where his white robes hung. "In order of importance, we rule out a detached core first, then. What did you say the patients' name was?"

* * *

"Hermione Granger?"

And just like that, dear reader, our heroine was transported again back to her time at Hogwarts - and not in a good way. She tasted the smell of parchment and almost felt a quill twirling in her hand when she looked up and saw -

"… Professor Snape."

"It's "Healer" now. I never went back to teaching. I was called in because Healer Malfoy has asked me to take on this - your case."

"Look," Beth's voice was low and dangerous. "I don't care what grudges you and that weasely little boy hold against her, I will not let you insult her, too - "

Severus spoke calmly. "Mrs. Granger, I am a professional. We need to know exactly what's happening so we can offer your daughter the best care possible, that's all." That seemed to put Beth somewhat at ease.

"Harry mentioned something about a detached core?" She repeated as if those words, strung together, made absolutely no sense. Which to be fair, they don't when you don't know that much about magic.

Severus cleared his throat. "It's an extremely rare condition. Think of it as … a wandering spleen, except a detached magical core is much more uncommon and fatal. Patients die within hours of a core detaching from the wizard or witch. In the few cases documented in witches, the symptoms do simulate a more intense version of those you see in early pregnancy."

You might be fooled into thinking that Healer Snape, known in St. Mungo's for a calm if impersonal bedside manner, was completely nonchalant about the situation. But the truth was that he had plenty of trouble _not_ seeing the woman across from him - possibly pregnant, to boot - as a teenaged student he had caught behind the greenhouses with some overeager boy's hand up her skirt.

"Now, Hermione - may I call you Hermione?" He waited for her nod to continue. "Are you able to perform wandless magic easily?" Hermione hesitated, but shook her head. "Then first, I need to check that your wand is working correctly. After that, we test your magical abilities with a series of simple spells. In a detached core, the source of your magic becomes more and more unstable as it tries to leave your body. If this is the case then you won't be able to perform simple spells, not even if you're using a Training Wand."

Hermione handed over her wand. She didn't expect Healer Snape to smile as he held it - nor did she expect she would smile back at him.

"Vine wood and dragon heart string core … is it the same wand you bought for your first year?" He asked as he used his own wand to run a diagnostic test over the vine wand.

"Yes, actually. It seems to like beeswax polish every six months or so."

"I like to use vinegar before polishing, myself. But in my line of work, things can get very messy very fast." Healer Snape didn't know where his chuckling came from. "Your wand is in perfect condition. Not a single repair needed in ten years. I have to say, I'm impressed," he handed the wand back after weighing it on his hands. "Now, try to Disarm me - "

I would be lying, dear reader, if I told you that Hermione didn't take a tiny little bit of pleasure in easily and non-verbally Disarming her former Potions teacher several times. Or that it didn't take loads of effort to not grin about it every time she handed him back his wand.

Healer Snape, on the other hand, couldn't hide his concern. "Your core seems to be just fine. Have your symptoms lessened at all today?"

"Well, I feel tired. Just not as tired as I did before I passed out."

"What about the nausea and the vomiting?"

"That's mostly gone, it just got a bit much when I was outside the Tube."

"Would you say you've become more sensitive to certain smells or tastes?"

"… Coffee. I can't stand the smell or the taste of it lately. I always have a cup of coffee with breakfast, but I haven't had coffee for a week - that _has_ to be why I'm so tired lately." Hermione sank into the bed.

"Hermione, if this was a case of a detached core, your symptoms would have become more and more intense instead of easing. I know you've had a Muggle pregnancy test that came back positive. I need to run a magical test to be sure, just in case you might have had a false positive before. I will cast a testing spell - any glowing indicates the presence of an embryo or foetus." Both women were surprised at how measured Healer Snape's speech was.

Hermione avoided making eye contact with Healer Snape and her mum as she exposed her abdomen as modestly as she could manage. It was very hard for her not to feel like a teenager who had been caught by her professor _and_ her mother behind the greenhouses with some overeager boy's hand up her skirt … however _that_ would have felt like.

And now, a brief anatomy lesson.

The human abdomen can be divided into nine regions, if you were to trace two horizontal and two vertical imaginary lines as if playing a game of naughts and crosses over someone's belly. This is of clinical significance, for example, when a patient is experiencing very localised pain: if it is located in the _epigastric region_ or the upper middle part, it will usually be related to the stomach - think indigestion or heartburn. Below the _umbilical region_ lies the appropriately named _pubic region_. It covers some portion of the small intestines, the bladder, and in some people, the uterus.

It was in Hermione's pubic region where Healer Snape pointed his wand, cast _Gravidas Revelio_ , and lit up with a faint glow in response. "Just so we're really sure: _Sonorus._ "

Beth squeezed Hermione's hand tightly. They were surrounded by a sound not unlike amplified silence - as if going through a tunnel, and then: a soft but steady and constant d _ubdubdubdubdubdub ..._

* * *

Severus Snape could not get Granger's case out of his mind. He had to throw out and re-start the Sobering Draught (Stasis-resistant to a point, it curdled quickly if left on Stasis for over an hour), which meant he would be working later than usual.

"I'm hiding here for an hour." Draco's voice snapped him back to reality. "I come in peace, but also armed with lemon cakes if necessary."

"Hmm."

"How did it go with Granger?" Draco conjured two paper plates to divvy up their pastries properly.

"I sent her home, it wasn't a detached core. She is pregnant, but we have no idea how that happened, though."

"You see, Sevvy, when a man and a woman _really_ love each other in that very special way - "

"Piss off. I know _how_ , but that's the exact part she seems to have missed."

"Oh, please. She wouldn't be the first woman to lie about that. There's no mystery or miracle here, other than whatever it is she could have seen in Weasley. And to think," Draco stood up to fetch a tiny steel cauldron and conjure water into it, "she wanted me to fetch Aga to sort her out. Can you imagine that? Pulling Aga out of a lush tropical paradise for _this_? I'd be sharing a room with Lockhart up in Janus Thickey right now."

Severus' ears perked up. Figuratively, of course - the man has regular-sized ears. It's just his nose and feet and hands that are a bit too … _well_ …

"Why did she ask specifically for Aga?"

"Something about seeing her since the Battle. Hogwarts one three years ago, I s'pose. Where do you keep the PG Tips … ? Bah, chamomile will have to do."

"Do you know why or how often she is seeing Aga, or if she's coming here?"

"No idea. I didn't give her case a second thought once you took over, honestly," Draco shrugged.

It made no sense to Severus. On the one hand, rational thought - and, let's be honest, some of the distaste he had for the Golden Trio as a collective - concluded Hermione must have been lying to cover up. But the same part of him that had marvelled at how well-cared Hermione's wand was, and her insistence that it couldn't be pregnancy, how calm she had been up until the point the pregnancy was confirmed, made him wonder …

"Please excuse me, I have to call Aga. That's fleabane, by the way, don't drink it unless you're struggling with piles." He left Draco alone in the dungeon, spitting out the not-chamomile tea he'd been about to drink.

It took a few rings, but finally a slurring, thickly accented woman's voice responded to his call. "Hello, lover." He could hear the clinking of glasses, faint chatter, and guitars - or some lively music with strings - loud in the background.

"… Fucksakes, are you drunk? That doesn't matter right now. Listen, is Hermione Granger a patient of yours?"

"Oh, it's _you_ , Severus. Yes! Hermione - **so** lovely, such a bright girl. And her mum makes some fucking excellent banoffee pie. And I don't even like bananas. Yeah, I know her, why?"

"Does she come to St. Mungo's often as a patient?"

"Healer-patient confidentiality," she tutted, then cleared her throat. " _Ojej._ Hmmm. She was in St. Mungo's for a quick outpatient procedure at the start of the month or late last month. I can't recall exactly. What she's being treated for - that _I_ can't disclose, but it's all part of the hospital's records _._ I don't need to go back to England, do I?"

Severus scribbled on his hand _check Spells records, rotas/schedule 3-5 w ago -_ "I can handle this, you stay there. I have to go back to my brewing now. Enjoy your conference."

"A bit too much," she chuckled before hanging up.

Some time later, Severus would come to regret not having been more thorough with the dates he needed to check. But for now, dear reader, that thought was gone from his mind as soon as he had reached the lifts.

_to be continued . . ._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, I am dead pleased that 3/4 people who commented spotted Walter Mercado! Walter was everything Dumbledore should have been, and you cannot change my mind about it.
> 
> I didn't plan on uploading this until Chapter Three was written and re-written, but well, today wasn't the best day to be a Harry Potter fan, huh?
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments! Wherever you are, I hope you're as safe and well as you can be.


End file.
